NDFY MaharLikha Gig x Fête de la Musique 2013

Huwatta week!

It has been a whirlwind of music-related events this week, my ears (and feet) are going to give out on me one of these days. Aside from work which demands that I am constantly surrounded by live performances, I ensure watching non-working shows every now & then. It’s not fun when you have to be behind curtains running around or feeling like your nose is about to fall off due to backstage airconditioning all the time. I deserve to enjoy too!

When I’m not onsite at an event, this is my deskspace on a daily basis: playlists, checklists, sheet music & a bajillion emails

June 11, 2013:NDFY MaharLikha Gig at B-Side, The Collective

I am all for supporting the Filipino talent & what a better way to do so than to listen to what it has to offer? NDFY (check out their website) is a movement inasmuch as it is a great platform to share & listen to awesome OPM. “You give an opportunity for the Filipino music scene to get revitalized – you give the independent artists a chance to be heard,” says the site. A worthy cause indeed! On a side note, I think we need senators who need to push for culture & the arts.

The site officially launched last week with a pre-independence day gig entitled MaharLikha (witty wordplay on Maharlika, a social class of Filipinos with power, and Likha, to create). It featured handpicked indie bands from all over the country & luckily, The Dork’s bandgot chosen. Yay!

Believe me when I say this is actually his first gig that I watched thoroughly. Almost four years of paduding/dating/being together & this is the first?! Yep. Most of the time I was too drunk to care/pretending he didn’t exist because I was pakipot queen/performing with him, so that didn’t count. Anyway. There. Who cares if I had a 7 AM calltime the next day!

The Dork’s original band members can’t be here for the gig so he grabbed a couple of friends from his other band, Lomo to play with him.

#ootd #mehganoohn #pamokanayabalaw #patathighs #whale

Godchild‘s music is quite lounge/chill (almost beachy) & they were pretty well-received by the crowd. Their set included: Waiting, Nothin’ More, Still Together/I Try & Last Confession. And there I was hiding in the corner with my drink, cheering…in my heart. CHAROZCALDO!!! Please forgive the first time stage gurfran, was never the type to post about these things. Or really get out there & be all cheery. I like dark corners, okay.

Favourites from that night were Farewell Fair Weather & Library Kids. You can also check out some Ilonggo bands & other Filipino indie artists by genre & location at the NDFY site. Go pay a visit! You just might find your new favourite song/band.

June 15, 2013: Fête de la Musique 2013

Live music! Different genres! Free entrance! French people! All these & more at this year’s Fête de la Musique — the Philippines’ celebration of World Music Day. This event is brought to everyone by the French Embassy, FrancoPhil &Alliance Français de Manille. Merci!

I love the idea of a long strip of streets & avenues filled with different genres of music where you can watch pocket performances for free. This year celebrated a theme of Michael Jackson songs since it was the 30th anniversary of Thriller. Equally music-loving Iloilo friends were going to be there too so I was sure it was going to be a blast!

You can jump from one venue/genre to another (ska, blues, jazz, indie, rock, reggae, latin, world music & even hiphop). We prioritized going to the main stage & the electronica venue. Kind of sad how we missed The Näive New Beaters, a French electro-pop band, but we still caught good performances of bands with their own versions of Michael Jackson songs:

SinoSikat – Jazzy & smooth tunes & their rendition of The Way You Make Me Feel

Noli Aurillo – an acoustic Michael Jackson medley which was so, so good

Up Dharma Down ft. Kate Torralba – Songs from their album Capacities but the highlight was Turn It Well/Rock With You mashup

Brigada – Non-stop tribal dance moves with their latin drumbeats

Part of the fête-ers

All over the place

The electronica venue at Time was full of hot French guys & lights that were Skins rave-worthy. We walked the red light district streets to H&J for the blues venue & if there was one moment that we would never EVER forget that night, was the guitarist whose fingers were bleeding as he raped his guitar.

Eckkk, we thought it was paint

“Oh god the music is SO good… *looks at blood stained guitar & fingers*” “SHIT!” “Omg indi na ko!!! But…I…can’t…look…away!” Scary, but his musical passion & his bleeding fingers & the sexy sexy blues were a combination of heaven & hell, if that’s possible. Wow. Definitely a night for the books!

After this week, I need to recuperate. And a massage. All worth it though, as I add these to my mental list of memorable nights in this music-scene loving city.